Paper-clip.



A. J. GIFFORD.

PAPER CLIP.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 20. 1908.

1,152,4c96. PatentedSept. 7, 1915.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 7,1915.

.ApplicationfiledOctober 20,1908. $er1'a1No./l58,596.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I ALBE T J. Glrronn a citizen of the United statearesidingat Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have. invented. l a new and useful Paper-Clip,'of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates'to a spring clip for use in holding papers and similar articles,

The principal object ofthe invention is to provide a simple and inexpensiverclip comprising a plurality of members of a similar shape made without bends. or folds so that it can be manufactured in a rapid; and inexpensive manner by the rotary process; that is by winding the wire helically andcontinuously on a mandrel and cutting each alternate coil so as to separatethewound wire into a plurality of clips each "consisting of two or more coils.

Further objects of the invention are to provide for constructing the clips with greater economy in the use of wire and generally to simplify and improve clips of this character as will be set forth herelnafter.

Reference is to be had, to the accompanymg drawing which shows one form of the.

invention and in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective viewof' a man-- how the wire is C(HlQd thereon, form of clip, and Fig. 2 1s a drel showing to make one perspective view of a clip made on the mandrel shown in Fig. 1.

The clip is preferablymade of wire of any desired size and form having such temper as to provide the necessary reslhency.

The clip as'completed consists of members a and bwhich may be superposed on each.

other. T have shown an article madewith only two members a and 5 but it *is obvious that the invention is I struction having only two members. The two members are of similar shape each constituting a figure, form, but incomplete on one side. This is done by providing cross bars 0 and d which extend across the figures and which terminate in ends 6, fand g h respectively. When made in the general form of a circle this produces a segmental or D-shaped figure.v As will be explained hereinafter, the'adjacent ends 6 and g of the two cross bars are formed at the same place, on

the wire is wound and are displaced-circumferentially by the natural recoil of the wire when the wire is removed fromthemam ri 2. Th

' acent ends (2 and g each other, crossing at not limited to a conpreferably of regular.

, and having the same holding force,

the mandrelon which drel so as to e ends of the'wire it and Z are formed originally exactly in line with each other on the mandrel but when thisrecoil takes place in removing the clip, these ends separate. Now in the form shown in Fig. 2, which is of a general circular shape, this separation takes once of the circle and it will be seen that the diameter bisecting the distance between the two ends 76 and Z will cut the otherside of the member in such position that the adof the two cross bars will lieon the same side of thatdiameter. The same is true of the othertwo ends 7 and it as will be understood without further exnlanation. It will be seen also that each member of the clip is: shown as symmetrical with respect to a line normal to the center of its cross bar. The recoil of the wire, it will be seen, results in bringing one of thelefthand ends. 6 of one member toward the 0ppcsite right hand end it of the other and carries the other two ends away from each other circumferentially. This results in bringing the two chordal cross-bars c and (Z into an angular position with 'respect to their centers when the figure is symmetrical. This furnishes the necessary jaws for gripping the paper or other material which is to be held and providesa most convenient construction for this purpose. i lt'will'be seen that the clip is of such form as to bring the cross-bars entirely within the circumference or periphery and by cutting. downthe length of the periphery of the figure, it materially reduces the amount of wire employed, which is no small item in an article of this class, as on account of the cheap mode of manufacture which will be described, the cost the principal item of expense; second, articles having the same resiliency as those which are made withextending bends, etc., occupy less space so thatthey can be packedjmore economically; third, all projecting loops andthe like which tend to tangle upthe articles when packed promiscuously are avoided; and fourth, a more compact, neat and attractive appearing article is pro place alcngthe circumfer- This has sevof the wire is,

assume the positionshown in 2 One; of the great advantages of this invention' is in the simplicity of the mode of manufacture. 'By reference 'to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the wire is coiled upon a simple mandrel n which gives the shape which it is; desiredfto have the article as: 'sum'e. In order to form an article such as that shown in Fig. 2, the mandrel 1s of ageneral cylindrical form with one side out away, -fas on a chord, to give a fiat surface atone side; Itwillbe seen that the mand rel has absolutely no. projections and no "irregularities fen'ceptthis fiat side and con sequently it is most cheaply madeand easily manipulated in themanufacture of the article. In order to produce a. clip of some othei' 'fornnthe mandrel is correspondingly jm'odified,but as there isno necessity of providingit. with any projection, it will be seen that mam to carry outthis invention to produce-the article, a simple mandrel -may' be used,'and that the mandrel alone gives]- the entire shapeto the article as no: addio tional bending'operation is required. Now

in the manufacture of the clipshown, the wire is simply wound onv the mandrelhelically ina well-knownmanner and it is then I clipped onevery alternate coil. The cliping is done at a point substantially opposite thecut away surface'o of the mandrel.-

lNow itis well known in this art that when the coil comes oil the mandrel the natural; L recoil of the wire will operate to move the convolutions slightly with respect. to each other circumferentially. In this invention,

the recoil is taken advantage of for thepur- 4 pose of bringing two, opposite ends of the cross bars, as-for instance 6 and it, toward each other instead if; Separating themand thus producing two jaws which. are formed at different points on the mandrel. VVhenclips were made in the old way, it is obvious that the manufacturer had" absolutely no control over the distance betwee h projectingloops on his clip except in so far as he had control of the temper andresiliency of the wire;Therefore, the wire had to be of a certain quality of temper and :fif wire of. some other/temper was used, thearticle would be of a, different shape. The

jaws would be-nearer together if the rewirewas used below a certain temper.

fmerely to'bring the [end-e toward the end I between the wires. Another. point to be ob- Copiesef this patent may be attained for siliency'of the wire were-less, so that the article would be useless for this purpose if No such difiiculty presented with this invention because the resiliency is depended upon it. Now if theresiliency of the wire is less thanjlt should be, the two cross bars will not cross at as great an angle andtheir ends e and will not be brought as near each other. Th1s merely gives a greater opening served is that the flat or other shaped surface 0 of the mandrel can be made as narrow or as wide as may be desired up to the the angular position of the cross bars will be regulated by the shape of the mandrel itself in addition to the resiliency of the wire. In this way, I have two ways in which I can control the shape of the article to be produced instead of depending entirely upon the resiliency or temper of the I wire.

in shape and size formed of a continuous resilient wire, each substantially in the form of a D-shaped figure having a straight bar extending across it and an incomplete curved part, said bars being offset so as to cross each other w thin the figure, and each figure .beingsymmetrical with respect to a line normal to the center of its said bar, whereby all parts of the clip are contained within a circular space of the periphery of which the curve of each Dshaped figure forms a part.

'2. A clip consisting of a plurality of in- ,tegrally'connected nearly complete substantlally D-shaped superposed resilient metallic members, each having a chordal cross-bar located entirely w1th1n the perlphery of the members, each being symmetrical with respect to a central line normal to the cross bar thereof and each of the same shape,

said crossbars being offset in opposite direct1ons, 'one end of one cross-bar being brought toward the opposite end of the other cross-barso as to cross each other and constitute a pair of jaws located within the periphery of both members, the other two ends being separated and located substantially on the peripheries of both members, the adjacent ends of the two bars lying on the same side of the diameters which bisect the distance between the free ends of the wire. I I

V In testimony whereofI have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

i ALBERT J. GIFFORD. Witnesses: I

ALBERT E. FAY,

C. I. I'IARTNETT.

five cents each by addressing the. Commissioner of latents.

Washington, D. G. I

diameter of the mandrel, and consequently 

